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Men’s Basketball Team Vying for A Spot in Playoffs

Monday, January 22, 2018 - 4:45pm

With three home games left in the regular season, Community College of Philadelphia’s men’s basketball team is ranked the 9th best team in the nation by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Men’s Basketball Poll Committee with an impressive 15-5 record.

The Colonials are vying for a spot in the playoffs and have three home games left:

Attendance at the games is free and open to the public. The home games are:

Jan. 27 – Lehigh Carbon Community College at 3 p.m.Feb. 6 – Northampton Community College at 7 p.m.Feb. 13 – Brookdale Community College at 7 p.m.

Under head coach Joe Rome, the Colonials took home the championship title for the NJCAA Region 19 conference in its 2014-2015, the first year of the team’s playoff eligibility. The team’s stellar season resulted in it being ranked 1st in the NJCAA Region 19 and 6th among all Division III colleges nationwide as the Colonials headed into the championship.

Over the years, the basketball players at the College have balanced jobs, taken challenging classes, and at times held fulltime jobs as they have forged a winning tradition. Outstanding alumnus include former Philadelphia 76er Ollie Johnson and Ronald Murray, who played for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jaylen Nixon, a forward for the Colonials, stands at 6’3” tall and scores about 20 points a game. In addition, he averages 5-6 rebounds per game. He said he is optimistic about winning the playoffs and taking home the championship title.

“My team is like my family – they’re more like brothers here. I think this is the greatest team I’ve played on,” said Nixon. “The one thing I learned from playing basketball here is if you’re not focused on the classroom, you can’t be focused in the court.”

Coach Rome added, “We have a good group of new freshman on this team. They work hard in the classroom and on the court. In order to win in basketball, you have to succeed in learning too.”